Low-key, direct and ready with a dry sense of humor, this barkeep is in many ways like his patrons of the Westerleigh landmark (established 1933).

When regulars pull up their barstools, Cookie simply asks, "Same flavor?" Most of the time, they answer, "Yep," and await their regular brews.

The daytime barkeep shares his fishing tales -- the avid angler catches flounder and fluke -- and snippets about his weekend trips. He and his wife, Barbara, like Mystic Seaport, Conn., the Berkshire Mountains upstate and Atlantic City. But mostly, he just hangs back and rolls with the conversation.

A friend of the Schaffer family since he was a boy, Cookie, a 66-year-old lifelong Westerleigh resident, hung around the bar for most of his adult life. A retired pumpman for Exxon Mobile, he tended bar part-time for 40 years, going full-time at Schaffer's four years ago.

"You meet a lot of people you've known for years," says the broad shouldered 6-foot-2 guy.

About his nickname, he says, "I was born over 10 pounds with big brown eyes. My aunt said I looked like a big chocolate chip cookie."